Track Listing

1. Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
2. Geordie
3. Copper Kettle
4. Kumbaya
5. What Have They Done to the Rain
6. Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair
7. Danger Waters
8. Gospel Ship
9. House Carpenter
10. Pretty Boy Floyd
11. Lady Mary
12. At� Amanh�
13. Matty Groves
14. Streets of Laredo
15. My Good Old Man
16. My Lord What a Morning [#]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65423 in Music
• Released on: 2002-03-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

Baez At Her Prime
Joan Baez has certainly fallen out of favor. Not sure I know why. Perhaps her music is too much out of step with the times. In any event, if you can get by the applause on this live CD, you will experience perhaps the finest artist of the prime folk movement at her prime - in voice and guitar. All the songs are a joy to listen to from a story/voice/instrument viewpoint. The voice and guitar on "Lady Mary" is perhaps Joan at her very best - a pure voice with no harsh edges and simple guitar which moves the heart. I have never heard "Black Is The Color Of My True Loves Hair" performed in any manner approaching this aching rendition. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" melds Joans moving voice with a guitar which literally pulls you down the highway. All in all a moving CD which demands that it be listened to - and therin may lie it's lack of popularity today. Buy it if you have an ounce of reflection in you.

Joan Baez, a first meeting
This was my first encounter with Joan Baez, back in the 70s. I was completely captivated. The purity and range of her voice, the quality of the songs and the simple guitar backing, all provided a very rich experience. "What have they done to the rain?" took my breath away, coming at a time when the nuclear debate was spreading world-wide. The contrast between the beauty of the melody and voice with the grimness of the meaning was very powerful. Time has not dimmed that first reaction.

The way it was
Time was, when this document of a 1962 Baez concert was released, that a musician could go on stage, armed with only a guitar and voice, sing songs that required listening and involvement by the audience -- and be successful. While that time may seem long ago and far away now, this first volume of "Joan Baez in Concert" proves that once upon a time, such things were possible.

One thing you might notice as soon as you listen to the release: there are no annoying hoots, hollers, yells, whistles, etc., etc., as Baez sings, or as she quietly prepares to play. One thing you will most certainly notice is the incredible quality of Baez's voice -- it was one of popular music's great instruments, producing bell-like tones of absolute purity. And finally, you will notice the quality of the material. Baez's love of songs that extend back in America's and the world's history is evident in her interpretations of much-sung tunes such as "Black Is the Color" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You."

Lest you think you are buying a hoary disc filled with dated protest songs, be assured that "In Concert" contains very little overtly political material. In fact, the only pure protest song, the excellent "What Have They Done to the Rain" is as much poetry as protest. And another of the disc's high points, the moonshine tune "Copper Kettle," leavens the performance with a dose of good humor.

This is music for quiet, reflective moments, a commodity in short supply today.